Who is the modern crafter?

Crafting has something in common with DIY beyond the act of creating something that didn't exist before: It is, for some, a money-saver.

While few people take up crafting solely in the pursuit of thrift, this is often the practical force behind taking it up -- at least at the beginning. In many cases, making your own drapes is less expensive than buying them readymade, and painting an old dresser is pretty much always cheaper than purchasing one.

This quality has brought crafting even further into the mainstream in the 21st century, with a widespread recession making store-bought luxuries like embroidered throw pillows and brand-new window treatments an unwise use of money that could go toward groceries. The modern crafter, then, may be driven not only by an urge to create, but also by financial necessity -- or at least a really deep desire to replace an ugly valance.

Many of us, though, know crafters who are in fact spending money, sometimes a whole lot of money, on their creations. Some of them simply have the disposable income for a hobby that involves buying fabric for $40 a yard because it's irresistibly beautiful; but others, and in the last decade their numbers have grown exponentially, are in it at least partly for something else...